CHAPTER 4

Research Design
Definition of research
design
Research design refers to the overall strategy or blueprint that outlines how a
research study will be conducted. It includes the methods and procedures for
collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. A well-structured research design
helps ensure that the study is valid, reliable, and can effectively address the
research questions or hypotheses.Research design refers to the overall
strategy or blueprint that outlines how a research study will be conducted. It
includes the methods and procedures for collecting, analyzing, and
interpreting data. A well-structured research design helps ensure that the
study is valid, reliable, and can effectively address the research questions or
hypotheses.
The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained
enables you to effectively address the research problem as unambiguously
as possible.
In social sciences research, obtaining evidence relevant to the research
problem generally entails specifying the type of evidence needed to test a
theory, to evaluate a program, or to accurately describe a phenomenon.

However, researchers can often begin their investigations far too early,
before they have thought critically about what information is required to
answer the study's research questions.
Without attending to these design issues beforehand, the conclusions
drawn risk being weak and unconvincing and, consequently, will fail to
adequate address the overall research problem.
Given this, the length and complexity of research designs can vary
considerably, but any sound design will do the following things:
Identify the research problem clearly and justify its selection,
Review previously published literature associated with the problem area,

Clearly and explicitly specify hypotheses [i.e., research questions] central to

the problem selected,
Effectively describe the data which will be necessary for an adequate test of
the hypotheses and explain how such data will be obtained, and
Describe the methods of analysis which will be applied to the data in
determining whether or not the hypotheses are true or false.
1. Action Research Design
The essentials of action research design follow a characteristic cycle
whereby initially an exploratory stance is adopted, where an
understanding of a problem is developed and plans are made for
some form of interventionary strategy.
Then the intervention is carried out (the action in Action Research)
during which time, pertinent observations are collected in various
forms.
The new interventional strategies are carried out, and the cyclic
process repeats, continuing until a sufficient understanding of (or
implement able solution for) the problem is achieved.
 Important of action research design
A collaborative and adaptive research design that lends itself to use in work
or community situations.
Design focuses on pragmatic and solution-driven research rather than testing
theories.
When practitioners use action research it has the potential to increase the
amount they learn consciously from their experience. The action research
cycle can also be regarded as a learning cycle.
Action search studies often have direct and obvious relevance to practice.
There are no hidden controls or preemption of direction by the researcher.
2. Case Study Design
A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem rather than a
sweeping statistical survey.
It is often used to narrow down a very broad field of research into one or a few
easily researchable examples.
The case study research design is also useful for testing whether a specific
theory and model actually applies to phenomena in the real world.
It is a useful design when not much is known about a phenomenon.
Important of Case Study research design
Approach excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex issue
through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or
conditions and their relationships.
A researcher using a case study design can apply a variety of methodologies
and rely on a variety of sources to investigate a research problem.
Design can extend experience or add strength to what is already known
through previous research.
Social scientists, in particular, make wide use of this research design to
examine contemporary real-life situations and provide the basis for the
application of concepts and theories and extension of methods.
The design can provide detailed descriptions of specific and rare cases.
4. Causal Design
Causality studies may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in terms
of conditional statements in the form, “If X, and then Y.” This type of research
is used to measure what impact a specific change will have on existing norms
and assumptions.
Most social scientists seek causal explanations that reflect tests of hypotheses.
Causal effect (nomothetic perspective) occurs when variation in one
phenomenon, an independent variable, leads to or results, on average, in
variation in another phenomenon, the dependent variable.
 Conditions necessary for determining causality:
Empirical association--a valid conclusion is based on finding an association
between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Appropriate time order--to conclude that causation was involved; one must
see that cases were exposed to variation in the independent variable before
variation in the dependent variable.

No spuriousness--a relationship between two variables that is not due to

variation in a third variable.
Important of Causal research design
Causality research designs helps researchers understand why the world works
the way it does through the process of proving a causal link between variables
and eliminating other possibilities.
Replication is possible.
There is greater confidence the study has internal validity due to the
systematic subject selection and equity of groups being compared.
5. Cohort Design
Often used in the medical sciences, but also found in the applied social sciences,
a cohort study generally refers to a study conducted over a period of time
involving members of a population which the subject or representative member
comes from, and who are united by some commonality or similarity.
Using a quantitative framework, a cohort study makes note of statistical
occurrence within a specialized subgroup, united by same or similar
characteristics that are relevant to the research problem being investigated,
rather than studying statistical occurrence within the general population.
Using a qualitative framework, cohort studies generally gather data using
methods of observation. Cohorts can be either "open" or "closed."
• Open Cohort Studies [dynamic populations, such as the population of Los
Angeles] involve a population that is defined just by the state of being a part of
the study in question (and being monitored for the outcome).
• Date of entry and exit from the study is individually defined; therefore, the
size of the study population is not constant.
• In open cohort studies, researchers can only calculate rate based data, such as,
incidence rates and variants thereof.
• Closed Cohort Studies [static populations, such as patients entered into a
clinical trial] involve participants who enter into the study at one defining
point in time and where it is presumed that no new participants can enter the
cohort.
6. Cross –Sectional Design
Cross-sectional research designs have three distinctive features: no time
dimension, a reliance on existing differences rather than change following
intervention; and, groups are selected based on existing differences rather than
random allocation.
The cross-sectional design can only measure differences between or from
among a variety of people, subjects, or phenomena rather than change.
As such, researchers using this design can only employ a relative passive
approach to making causal inferences based on findings.
7. Descriptive Design
Descriptive research designs help provide answers to the questions of who,
what, when, where, and how associated with a particular research problem;
a descriptive study cannot conclusively ascertain answers to why.
Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current
status of the phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to
variables or conditions in a situation.
8. Experimental Design
A blueprint of the procedure that enables the researcher to maintain
control over all factors that may affect the result of an experiment. In
doing this, the researcher attempts to determine or predict what may
occur.
Experimental Research is often used where there is time priority in a
causal relationship (cause precedes effect), there is consistency in a
causal relationship (a cause will always lead to the same effect), and the
magnitude of the correlation is great.
Experimental research allows the researcher to control the situation. In
so doing, it allows researchers to answer the question, “what causes
something to occur?”
Permits the researcher to identify cause and affect relationships between
variables and to distinguish placebo effects from treatment effects.
9. Exploratory Design
• An exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there
are few or no earlier studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights
and familiarity for later investigation or undertaken when problems are in
a preliminary stage of investigation.
The goals of exploratory research are intended to produce the following
possible insights:
Familiarity with basic details, settings and concerns.
Well-grounded picture of the situation being developed.
Generation of new ideas and assumption, development of tentative
theories or hypotheses.
Determination about whether a study is feasible in the future.
Issues get refined for more systematic investigation and formulation of
new research questions.
 END OF CHAPTER FOUR
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